Strength for Today's Pastor

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Matt Valencia pastors The Regeneration Church in Scotts Valley, CA. He's a father of five, a church planter, a former school teacher, a former assisting pastor, and the current pastor of ReGen Church. He also heads up a team of leaders across Northern California and Northern Nevada. These leaders serve the senior pastors and churches affiliated with the...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! It's nothing short of a miracle that Steve Marquez is still with us, here on planet earth. Listen to the story of his healing, and even more importantly, of the ministry to which God has called himPastors and leaders, this episode will provide great insights into how to minister to and care for cancer patients. Also, this episode will be super encouragi...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Pastor Don Rypstra is in his last days of a long pastorate in Rochester, Minnesota. His and his wife's move to northern Idaho means that a new normal is waiting for them, but also that someone will be called into an exciting opportunity to pastor and reach the people of Rochester, home of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Pastor Don is not unlike many pas...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! It's a huge problem. And because of it, we're losing many of our best youth to the world, the flesh, and the devil. Too often, the young people in our churches run off to college or university and subsequently abandon the faith. Also, in our churches there often is a big chasm between what happens in youth or college groups, and what is going on in...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Every pastor has a testimony, but very few have one like Gary Malkus Jr. Inspiring and directional, Gary's testimony touches a lot of lives, from those in the worst kind bondage to those who need to remember where they came from as they deal with present realities and future dreams. An amazing story... from meth to ministry. --- Support this podcast: ht...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Sandy Adams is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain, Georgia. He is known as a tremendous communicator and teacher of God's Word. At the recent International Pastor's Conference in Southern California, Sandy delivered a message entitled "Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should". His text was from 1 Samuel 24, the account...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Welcome to podcast 153. Today, it’s a blessing and honor to welcome Thom Rainer. Our subject will be church revitalization, a subject that Dr. Rainer is an expert on… Thom S. Rainer is an author, researcher, speaker, and former president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Prior to LifeWay, he served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelv...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! In episode 152, Bill Holdridge sits down with pastor Nick Cady of White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado. The topic is the backstory of Nick's book, The God I Won't Believe In. How would you complete this sentence, “I could never believe in a God who…?” In 2019, Nick Cady asked the Internet that very question. The responses, along with...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Jack Arnold pastors Calvary Chapel Mt. Si, in North BendWashington. In 2016, the Lord called Jack and family to move to North Bend and become the pastor of Calvary Chapel North Bend, which is now called Calvary Mt. Si. North Bend is only 30 miles from Seattle, a hotbed of far left wing, progressive thinkng. It is not considered a particularly fertile place f...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! SFTP Podcast number 150 focuses on how a ministry which is considered a frontlines ministry must first of all, be a healthy ministry. There must be the life of Jesus , the light of Jesus , and also the love of Jesus . Today I’ll be speaking with Pastor Arnold, who ministers right in the thick of the ongoing cultural and spiritual rebellion against God which...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Rich Cathers has written a book. He didn't write a book to write a book; he wrote a book that would advance a ministry passion of his ... the discipling of God's people into the Word of God. Helping them make Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible contemplation and application as much a part of their lives as breathing or eating. So, the book is cal...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Pastor, is counseling a burden or a blessing to you? How is your one on one ministry oriented? What's your end game? What are you aiming to accomplish with the many hours you spend with people? Paul LeBoutillier speaks with program host Bill Holdridge about counseling, and the way the Lord has taught him to approach it in his church of almost 30 years....

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Podcast number 147 features Pastor Paul LeBoutillier, who recently, and very excitedly, announced that he has written and published his first book. This podcast is aimed at encouraging pastors who have something to say, to say it in written form! In this episode, Paul will share with us about how the book came to be, some of the important components of writi...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! This is a podcast consisting of a message delivered by Pastor Gary Hamrick on June 4, 2023. He has graciously allowed us to replay it, in its entirety, and with the attached link to the sermon transcript. From Pastor Gary: "...What we are now is a culture in chaos. We are a culture in chaos, rife with gender confusion and sexual perversion, and this so-...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! In podcast 146 we’re dealing with a subject that is (or should be) on the heart of every pastor or elder in any church anywhere. It’s an important, paradigm shifting, vision altering approach to ministry. Patrick Farrell, senior/lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Wichita, Kansas, talks about the equipping of the saints for ministry, and in particular, preparing y...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Pastor Jeff Birmingham started River Rocks Church in 2012. But after about five years into the effort, he and his wife Jessica were worn out ... about ready to throw in the towel. It was then that things started to happen. A new focus emerged, the strategic leadership development began, and improvement was on its way. An enjoyable season of ministry has been...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Kevin Green is the founding pastor of Calvary Chapel in Fort Bragg, California. He's been serving there for 25 years. Kevin is passionate about Jesus, the scriptures, about teaching the whole counsel of God, about making disciples, and about the fellowship that he feels very privileged to be part of. He's also passionate about music. On that note (...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Bob Claycamp has been there, done that. He's been a church planter, a longtime senior pastor in North Phoenix, a Christian commune Bible teacher, a senior pastor in Exeter, England, a transitional senior pastor, and since 2010, has served with our team of Poimen Ministries pastors. Bob says, "Sometimes (in searching for leaders) we are looking for...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Prayer is God's idea. His great invitation. Prayer is essential. Prayer is the primary means by which God involves His children in what He wants to do in His world. Prayer was a primary focus of the best church ever—the apostolic church, as in Acts 2:42. Yet, way too often our prayer meetings seem boring, are poorly attended, and unexciting ... when the...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! This subject is coming up more and more every day. We at Poimen Ministries are finding ourselves in conversations every week with pastors who are looking to the future, and wondering what they should do now with regard to their own pastoral transition. The bottom line is this: unless Jesus returns before you've come to the end of your ministry at your p...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! This is a very interesting and inspirational testimony ... Tadd and Charity Scheffer tell their story. Tadd is the founding and senior/lead pastor of Calvary Ellensburg, Washington. Charity, in addition to being a wonderful wife and mother, has an amazing side hustle (i.e. job). You'll have to listen in to find out about it. In 2009 the Scheffers follow...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! It's an amazing thing to watch how the Lord sovereignly brings two people together and then uses that union for His greater glory. Such is the case in the lives of Tadd and Charity Scheffer. Tadd is the senior/lead pastor of Calvary Ellensburg, in Ellensburg, WA. When he and Charity met, she was a Mormon and he was a carnal believer. Yet, the Lord used...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Alan Stoddard is the author of the Stoke It Up Podcast, and is a former Calvary Chapel Senior/Lead pastor. He is currently prepping for a new church plant in Granbury, Texas. Alan recently discovered that Bill Holdridge had been a church planter himself back in the day ... so he decided to interview him. The discussion takes a number of twists and turns ......

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Pastor Tadd Scheffer (pronounced Skeff'-er) is the senior and founding pastor of Calvary Ellensburg, Washington. Calvary Ellensburg is a growing, solid church based upon a Calvary Chapel style of ministry and the four distinctives of the early church found in Acts 2:42.Tadd grew up in Lynden, Washington—close to the Canadian border. Lynden is a Dutch to...

Comments? Questions? Send us a message! Pastor Paul Berry's passion is to “equip the body of Christ with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying Spiritual gifts given for the work of the ministry and the flourishing of the church.” This is also the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, Jesus had much to say to His disciples prior to going to the cross, to prepare them for d...